Shady businessman entangled in Trump-Russia investigation claims he doubled as American spy

Felix Sater has worked with President Trump for years. (Felix Sater/via YouTube)

His name frequently appears in connection with President Trump's campaign and the possibility that it colluded with the Russian government, and his shady business dealings have landed him in trouble with U.S. intelligence agencies.

But what is not widely known about Felix Sater is that he has worked as a spy for the U.S. government on some of the nation's most top-secret intelligence operations, according to newly unearthed records.

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In sealed testimony to the House Intelligence Committee in December, the Russian-born, Brooklyn-bred businessman revealed that he obtained phone numbers for Osama Bin Laden and "crucial" intelligence on al-Qaeda before the 9/11 attacks, helping U.S. forces root out terrorist training camps and weapon caches across the Middle East.

In his testimony — which was obtained by the Daily News and first reported by BuzzFeed News — Sater also claimed that he obtained sensitive intel on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, helped prevent assassination attempts on President George W. Bush and ex-Secretary of State Colin Powell, in addition to helping the FBI detect and convict Russian and Ukrainian cybercriminals who had stolen money from U.S. financial institutions. Sater also claims he helped federal agents arrest and convict Italian mobsters, according to his testimony.

But Sater's self-professed past as a U.S. intelligence asset has been overshadowed by his sketchy connections to Trump and his presidential campaign.

The 52-year-old ex-stockbroker is known for teaming up with the Trump Organization to develop the troubled Trump SoHo hotel — a deal which almost led federal prosecutors to file fraud charges against Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr.

Sater's name became even more synonymous with trouble after emails surfaced showing that he boasted to Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen in November 2015 that he would "get Donald elected" by getting Russian President Vladimir Putin "to buy in on this."

"Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it," Sater wrote in one email to Cohen.

That email exchange is now of interest to special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation into whether there was any coordination between Trump's campaign and the Russian government.

Sater says he was a senior adviser to Trump during the campaign. But, in a confusing denial, Trump said last year that he wouldn't recognize Sater if he saw him on the street, even though the two have worked closely on several real estate ventures.

In an effort to clear his name, Sater discussed his checkered past with BuzzFeed and argued that, while he has made some missteps, he is actually an honest, crime-fighting man.

"I am being given no choice because of the ongoing Trump investigations," Sater told the news site. "The media lies about me."

Neither Mueller's office nor spokespeople for the FBI and the CIA would comment on Sater's claims.

Donald Trump in the White House

Ronn Torossian, a spokesman for Sater, charged that "the narrative" around his client "has been completely inaccurate."

"He is rightfully now being acknowledged for the role he's played to help american security. He is thankful and in time will have more to say," Torossian told The News.

Sater testified that he deeply regrets a highly-sensationalized altercation in which he stabbed a man in the face with a margarita glass at a bar in Manhattan. He ended up serving a year in prison for felony assault and lost his license as a Wall Street trader as a consequence.

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"Although it was not an excuse, my unemployability and desperate need for money to support my family and my newborn child led to my involvement in illegal Wall Street activities," Sater said in his statement to the House Intelligence Committee.

After working on the mob-connected "dark side of Wall Street" for nearly two years, Sater said he moved to Moscow. There he forged business relationships with powerful oligarchs connected to the Kremlin and helped orchestrate a failed Ukrainian peace plan that Putin would've been a big fan of.

After a few years in Moscow, Sater said he met American defense contractor Milton Blane.

Sater is a target of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

"He told me that my country needed me and he proceeded to recruit me in support of American intelligence efforts," Sater said in his House testimony.

For the next two decades, Sater said he worked for U.S. intelligence agencies on top secret operations. His fluency in Russian and connections to various criminal underworlds proved him a valuable asset, and he was able to avoid prison time on federal racketeering charges in exchange for his cooperation with the government.

Sater said some of his most important work took place after the 9/11 attacks.

Sater claims he cultivated the personal secretary of Mulla Omar, the head of the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden's protector, into a U.S. intelligence asset. Sater insinuated in his testimony that the secretary ended up providing intel that helped U.S. forces assassinate Bin Laden in 2011.

Sater's House testimony depicts him as an American hero who has, in his own words, "saved the lives of hundreds if not thousands of military personnel."

But Sater is also a prime target of Mueller's investigators, especially because of his suspicious email to Trump's personal attorney during the campaign.

Asked about his email to Cohen, Sater said that he "of course" doesn't know Putin and was just trying to look out for everybody's best interest.

"If a deal can get done and I could make money and he could look like a statesman, what the fuck is the downside, right?" Sater said.